


Once a Bot Fighter

by reveil



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Gender-neutral Reader, Light Angst, One Shot, Other, Post-Big Hero 6 (2014), Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26718658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveil/pseuds/reveil
Summary: …always a bot fighter.ORIn which Hiro goes somewhere at night, and you want to find out where that is.
Relationships: Hiro Hamada/Reader
Kudos: 15





	Once a Bot Fighter

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve always loved that beginning scene in the movie with the bot fight!
> 
> I apologize if anyone is out of character. Because I haven’t seen the series, please note that this fic is based only on the movie. It’s set years after, and Hiro has already graduated from college.

Once you heard the front door close, you crawled out of bed. Either he'd noticed the lights automatically turning on or had heard you moving around, Baymax walked into the room, pushing open the door with a hand.

“(Name),” he greeted. “You are still awake. Are you having trouble sleeping?”

“Oh no, it’s not that, Baymax,” you said, searching your drawers for a sweater. Something for a chilly night. “I wasn’t planning on sleeping early anyway.”

“I do not understand. You told Hiro you were sleeping early tonight.”

“Yeah… I did.” Like Hiro was on most nights, you were a night owl, and he knew that. But Hiro had been so distracted earlier that he had actually bought your lame excuse.

Baymax took a few steps closer, watching you take a sweater out of a drawer and put it on. “May I ask what you are doing?”

“I’m going to follow Hiro,” you said, deciding the pants you were already wearing were enough to go out in.

“Whatever for?”

You turned to Baymax, looking him in the eyes. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it. Hiro’s been going out every night for the past week—maybe even longer than that.” You grabbed your phone from the bedside table, and almost as soon as you did, a text appeared on your screen.

A good night text from Hiro.

You gave it a sad smile and didn’t text back. Doing so would only let him know you were still awake. “Just where are you going?” you asked, though you knew your phone couldn’t answer.

Pocketing it, you looked up. “Sorry, Baymax. I know it’s not your fault.” He was just as much in the dark about this as you were.

“I sense that you are feeling uneasy. I assume that is because of Hiro?”

You nodded, sitting on your side of the bed. The covers were thrown back there, while Hiro’s side was still neatly made from that morning. Baymax silently took a seat beside you.

“I know I should’ve just asked him as soon as this all started,” you confessed. “Hiro’s had late nights before, especially when he was still in school, but this? I’m pretty sure he’s not taking evening classes as some side project.”

“Do you believe he is cheating?”

You didn’t hesitate to say, “No!” But you lowered your voice, continuing, “I don’t believe he’s cheating.”

Hiro wouldn’t do that. He'd never do that.

In the years you two had been together, you'd grown to understand certain things about Hiro: that being holed up in his office or lab wasn’t to avoid you; that when he was with you and didn’t reply right away, it usually meant he was just thinking; and that Baymax would always be a part of your lives.

You didn’t have a problem with any of it. You'd accepted it long ago, and Baymax was an endearing robot.

There'd been times before when your relationship with Hiro was tested, when you'd both been younger and Hiro stubborner. Too many times he'd sacrificed his own health to save others, and sometimes he'd been frustrated at you for not understanding ideas as quickly as he could.

Some would say you had blind faith in him, but you knew Hiro. You trusted him.

So, if he wasn’t cheating on you, then what _was_ he doing?

“Baymax,” you said slowly, eying the robot sitting next to you. “You wouldn’t happen to have some way of finding Hiro, would you?”

“No.” But before you could be disappointed, Baymax said, “However, if you track Hiro’s nighttime habits this past week and consider his past history, there is one possibility.”

“And what possibility is that?”

“Hiro is out bot fighting.”

You groaned, letting yourself fall on your bedcovers. The answer was so simple.

Bot fighting. Hiro.

Hiro bot fighting.

You knew in your heart that was it.

Hiro had last been in bot fighting several years ago, but after that one fight landed him and Tadashi in a police cell, bot fighting for Hiro had effectively ended on that night. But if what Baymax said was true…

So much for being an ex-bot fighter.

“(Name), are you all right? Your levels are indicating that you are under a concerning amount of stress.”

“Not really,” you said, closing your eyes. You were glad you couldn’t see your own levels—whatever they were—right now. Then, feeling suddenly invigorated, you opened your eyes and sat up. You had almost forgotten! “But I’ll feel a lot better if I follow Hiro now.”

You took out your phone. “Bot fighting… bot fighting…” You searched and scrolled, trying to find anything that stood out.

If you were Hiro, which event would you enter? But that only made you wonder what Hiro was even doing bot fighting again for. Maybe he just missed it.

You paused, staring at an ad of an event being held in less than an hour. Out of all the events you had seen, this one seemed like it could have the highest payout and was the most prestigious.

Hiro didn’t need the money—betting on bot fighting was still illegal—but you knew he wouldn’t want to get into any _easy_ fights.

Unsurprisingly, neither the event’s location nor any contact information was listed, but you supposed anyone who was an experienced or serious bot fighter would know where to go.

Anyone, like Hiro.

And since he was already on his way there, that meant you were just wasting more time by sitting here with your phone. “Baymax, can you watch over the house while I’m gone?” Not that the house even needed watching, what with Hiro’s security measures.

“May I suggest that I come with you instead?” Baymax asked, holding up his index finger in thought. “In case either of you need my assistance.”

“Sorry, Baymax, but not this time.”

Typically, you would’ve agreed but you couldn’t tonight. Bringing Baymax with you couldn’t exactly keep you from going unnoticed, and you didn’t want him to be carried around in his small traveling case.

“I have to do this one alone,” you said as you stood, Baymax following you out of the bedroom.

Though he seemed to understand, Baymax still asked, “Will that make you feel better?”

You didn’t have a clear answer for that yet. “I hope so.” With your shoes now on, you paused at the door. “I’ll be back soon, Baymax.”

And you hoped Hiro would be with you.

* * *

Following Hiro wasn’t like following any ordinary person on the streets. With his years of being a hero, his senses were much more honed than yours were. If you weren’t careful, he'd hear you coming before you even realized it.

You had to follow Hiro from a much farther distance than you would’ve liked, and that didn’t include how long it took for you to catch up with him. You almost lost Hiro once, and then you actually did. You had to find him again.

Squeezing past people, you made sure not to stick out, and so far you didn’t. No one paid any attention to you unless you accidentally bumped into them. Everyone was too busy watching the current fight, the sound of crashing bots being heard over the cheers and jeers of the crowd.

“Hey!” said a girl when you bumped into her.

“Sorry.” Ignoring the look she sent you, you squeezed past a few more people to a small spot where you could remain relatively hidden and still see the ring.

And that was where you found Hiro, sitting on the opposite side. A hood was pulled high over his head, his hair covered by Tadashi’s old baseball cap. But what made you stifle a laugh were the sunglasses he wore, even though it was already dark out.

The disguise was ridiculous, but it worked. No one else seemed to recognize Hiro or take him seriously, judging by the derisive snorts and sneers around you.

Well, it _had_ been several years. Long enough that people had forgotten about him.

“What’s with the glasses?” asked Hiro’s opponent, a man who maybe liked neon colors a bit too much. It almost hurt to look at him.

“Photosensitivity,” Hiro said easily. “You know, with your clothes being so bright and all…”

The man glared at Hiro. “Watch your mouth, kid! Seems to me like you’re wearing those glasses of yours ‘cuz you can’t beat me without ‘em.”

“Yeah, because that makes _perfect_ sense.” You could practically hear the eye roll in Hiro’s voice.

“You being sarcastic with me?” The man scrambled to his feet, but he could barely move before a referee, a rather tough-looking woman, intervened.

“Fight with your bots, not your fists,” she said, sounding annoyed. She turned to Hiro. “You, glasses off. Use them to cheat, and you’re disqualified immediately.”

Hiro complied, folding his sunglasses before he handed them to her. Then he was staring at the man across from him, a challenge in his eyes. “Like I need to cheat to win.”

* * *

You could practically pinpoint the moment when Hiro’s relaxed façade went away, and he was in absolute control. His fingers flew across his controller, and within a few seconds, Hiro’s bot had picked up speed.

Too fast for his opponent’s bot to keep up with, Hiro’s bot avoided every single one of its attacks, finding openings where the other bot couldn’t defend itself.

“What the hell!” cried Hiro’s opponent, his face turning red. But no matter what he did, his bot couldn’t gain the upper hand. Once Hiro had it, it was his.

He didn’t look rusty at all, even faking a yawn as his bot ripped out a final piece of his opponent’s bot. The piece spun and spun before it fell against the ground with a thud.

There was no question about who'd won the fight.

The man in neon was in complete disbelief before he threw his controller aside, and the crowd took this as their cue to burst into wild applause.

Taking advantage of the excitement, you fell back deeper into the crowd. While you were happy to have seen Hiro win in person, you weren’t supposed to be here. As far as Hiro knew, you were still at home.

But… you didn’t want to leave him behind either. Leaning against the wall, you decided to wait for the crowd to disperse. You checked your phone. Cass had sent you a picture of Mochi napping on an armchair, the glow of the TV highlighting his fur—how you missed that cat.

“I thought you were sleeping early.”

You looked up, meeting warm brown eyes, and put away your phone. “I thought _you_ were an ex-bot fighter.”

Almost at the same time, you and Hiro smiled guiltily at each other. “I didn’t think you’d come out until later. How’d you know I’d be here?” you asked.

Hiro took his cap off, running a hand through his hair, before he put it back on. “Saw you in the crowd earlier when you tried hiding behind someone.” He slid his hands into his pockets. “Did you bring Baymax with you?” he asked, looking around like Baymax himself would appear at any moment.

“Nah, I left him at home. Didn’t think I could tail you very well if I had this big marshmallow with me.”

Hiro’s lips curved at that, but then he said, “So I guess the secret’s out now, huh?”

“Oh totally,” you said, falling into step beside Hiro as you two left the area and walked down a quiet street. “Bot fights… That’s where you’ve been going at night?”

“Yeah… It was just supposed to be that one time. Thought I’d bring a bot and enter just for fun.”

“’Just for fun,’” you repeated, glancing knowingly at Hiro. “But you bot fighting wasn’t the worst thing I could’ve seen. Speaking of…” You realized he was missing something. “Where’s your bot?”

“Gave it to some kid.”

“Some kid?” you asked, raising your eyebrows.

“Hey, when I was that age, I was already into bot fighting,” Hiro pointed out, a playful note in his voice. “Besides, I can just build something better.”

You rolled your eyes at him but didn’t pull away when Hiro took your hand and held it in his. “I’m sorry I kept this a secret.”

“Don’t be,” you said softly. “It’s on me too. I should’ve just asked you, Hiro.”

“You wouldn’t have to if I’d just told you from the start.” Hiro lifted his head, staring at the dark sky overhead. “But it just reminded me of Tadashi when he was still alive. I was bot fighting then, too, and he didn’t even know about it at first until he caught me sneaking out once.”

“More than once,” you corrected.

Hiro laughed. “Yeah, more than once, but not always for bot fighting.” He shared a look with you, and you saw the twinkle in his eye.

“If you want to get back into bot fighting, then you shouldn’t have to stop because of me. Just leave me a few nights so I can have you too, okay?” you said, squeezing Hiro’s hand. “You looked good out there bot fighting.”

“That was nothing. You should’ve seen me years ago,” he joked.

You wished you had. You'd met both the Hamada brothers at fourteen but had never seen Hiro in a bot fight before, too busy with high school to go to one. And by then, Hiro had already _graduated_ from high school.

“But,” Hiro went on, “No, my bot fighting days are officially over—again. This was just a temporary return.”

“Temporary?” You pretended to be disappointed. “Too bad…”

“Oh? If it’s something you like, then I guess I’ve gotta get back into bot fighting, after all.”

You smiled, resting your head on Hiro’s shoulder.

“Anywhere you wanna go?” he asked.

“Right now?”

“Yeah, we still have time. And since you’re clearly not sleeping…”

You looked at him, playfully hitting his arm. “What about the Lucky Cat Café?”

Hiro’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” You could tell he was thinking something along the lines of “We could go anywhere, and you pick my aunt’s café?”

“Yeah, she sent me a pic of Mochi, and it reminded me how long it’s been since we’ve last been there.”

“You mean, since you’ve last had one of Aunt Cass’s donuts?”

“Consider it a bribe so I don’t tell her about your bot fighting.” You knew how Cass would react to that: by stress-eating.

Without hesitation, Hiro said, “Fine, but if we get sucked into another talk about how much she misses us, it’s your fault.”

You brought Hiro closer, lips almost touching his. “Done.”


End file.
